{"id":130902,"date":"2021-09-29T17:26:42","date_gmt":"2021-09-29T15:26:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=130902"},"modified":"2026-01-16T16:38:20","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T15:38:20","slug":"waiting-one-and-a-half-year-to-start-your-medical-internships","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2021\/09\/29\/waiting-one-and-a-half-year-to-start-your-medical-internships\/","title":{"rendered":"Waiting one and a half year to start your medical internships"},"content":{"rendered":"

Waiting times for internships have increased considerably. Some students who wanted to start this academic year will only be able to do so in the spring of 2023. “I feel like I’ve been taken for a ride by the programme.”<\/p>\n

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\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPauline Wiersema<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

K\u00e9 Mochel had actually planned to start her internship immediately after the summer. But she had bad luck with the draw and was allocated April 2023 as her starting date. \u201cI was in tears when I read that\u201d, she says. \u201cI can be a bit stressed out at times, so I was really at the end of my tether. Who wants to wait more than a year and a half? Travelling is not really an option and I am not interested in doing another master.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA Medicine study is already quite long, and after your internships, you\u2019re still not done, \u201cK\u00e9 says. Training to become a medical specialist takes at least another four years. \u201cIt might be weird to think about it now, but what if you want to start having children or buy a house in a few years\u2019 time?\u201d In the end, she was able to cut down on her waiting time by swapping with another student. She can now start in June 2022. She intends to spend this year doing her master\u2019s research before her internships as well as working for a couple of months.<\/p>\n\t

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This article is based on interviews with fourteen medical students, access to correspondence between students and the programme, and official documents about the drawing of lots for internships.<\/p>\n\n\t<\/div>\n

Swap deals<\/h2>

Niek Stege was not so lucky. He had made a complicated swap deal with several students, but a fellow student dropped out at the last minute. He can only start in April 2023. \u201cWhat the heck, I thought. It really is a bitter pill to swallow that you can only start a year and a half later.\u201d He, too, points out that extra delays with such a long study as Medicine are problematic: \u201cYou have to adjust your plans and ambitions, because now you can\u2019t develop yourself further or study at the pace you want. I was also a little older when I started, so I\u2019ll be 25 soon and then all of a sudden, I won\u2019t earn much for two years. Because you can\u2019t work that much next to your internships.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018It creates an unfair situation if students who can afford it can buy a better starting date\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

A lot of bartering is going on because of the extended waiting times. On social media, students even offer money for a more suitable starting date. \u201cSubstantial offers are being made\u201d, Niek adds. EM even spoke to a student who is prepared to pay 2,000 euros to be able to start this year. Niek says: \u201cI understand the idea, but I am not going to take part in it out of principle. It creates an unfair situation if students who can afford it can \u2018buy\u2019 a better starting date.\u201d Whether students have actually paid for an earlier start date is unknown.<\/p>\n\t

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The study programme confirms that the waiting times are long and that it is working on coming up with solutions, especially for the students with a waiting time exceeding 50 weeks. The situation is complex. “We will probably not be able to resolve it completely, but we will be able to alleviate some of the pain.” To date, the programme does not want to respond in more detail, as it wants to inform students first.<\/p>\n

A temporary measure is to increase the number of places this academic year. In addition, a compensation scheme<\/a> is in place for students who have to wait longer than 26 weeks. They are entitled to financial reimbursement from the university’s profiling fund, although this is subject to a number of conditions. For example, students must be enrolled.<\/p>\n\n\t<\/div>\n

Missed out on the draw<\/h2>

Lengthy waiting times for internships have long been a problem at many medical study programmes in the Netherlands. But last year this was exacerbated by the corona period. Master\u2019s degree programmes and internships were mostly suspended for two months at the start of the pandemic. Corona caused delays for students who were already doing their internship, along with a postponement of the draw for the previous academic year, and there were fewer gap years taken.<\/p>\n

Before the summer, it was already obvious that there would again be longer waiting times this academic year compared to other years. In April, there is always an extra draw for those students who are following a nominal route. The idea behind this is that they can start their internships as soon as possible to avoid any delay in their studies. However, almost 100 students were told that they had missed out on the draw and as a consequence were unable to start their internships this year. They were not assigned a starting date at all. That had never happened before. They were allowed to participate in the draw again in August, but were not given priority.<\/p>\n

Lawyers<\/h2>

One of the students excluded in April is Steven Merkens. He had failed a subject in his bachelor\u2019s study just after the start of the corona crisis. Thanks to the so-called \u2018zachte knip\u2019 (soft cut) \u2013 a concessionary measure for students whose studies were postponed due to corona, he was able to combine that subject with his master\u2019s research last year so that he could start his internship this academic year. \u201cThat soft cut measure was a good thing because it prevented me from postponing my studies. But then all of a sudden, I was not selected in the draw. He describes what followed as \u2018a real rollercoaster\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter we were not selected, we were told by the study programme that we could not start until the academic year of 2022-2023\u201d, Steven explains. \u201cThat would mean I would still be delayed by a year after all and would have no idea where I stood for months on end. I had a big row with the study programme.\u201d This led to a lot of frustration, so much so that he even spoke to lawyers to see if legal action could be taken against the study programme. In the end, he left it as it was \u2018because everything is pretty much a done deal\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018That kind of news has a big impact on your life. You start making all sorts of plans and you can\u2019t just change them like that \u2013 a rental contract, work arrangements\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

\u201cI really feel like I\u2019ve been taken for a ride\u201d, he says. \u201d That kind of news has a big impact on your life. You start making all sorts of plans and you can\u2019t just change them like that \u2013 a rental contract, work arrangements.\u201d Because he was expecting a major study delay, he moved to Amsterdam to live with his girlfriend and work full-time as a doctor\u2019s assistant at a general practice. He sees it as a stroke of luck after having such bad luck. \u201cI really feel that I am contributing something here. But if you had told me this a year ago, I wouldn\u2019t have believed it. Of course, I would have preferred to do my internships now.\u201d As it turns out, he will be starting them next summer.<\/p>\n

Bad luck five times in a row<\/h2>

Anna den Broeder was also told that she had not been selected in the draw. She recognises Steven\u2019s frustration. You can specify your preferred starting date at the draw and if you are not selected, you are automatically entered into the draw for the next starting date, she goes on to explain. There are five starting dates per academic year. \u201cMy preferred starting date was September 2021, but I was told that I had not been selected at all. So, I had bad luck five times in a row.\u201d<\/p>\n

The same thing happened to her flatmate Laura, and together they decided to write a letter to the faculty board, which was signed by dozens of fellow students. \u201cIt was very unclear what being eliminated actually meant for us. That led to a lot of frustration for us and our fellow students\u201d, Anna recalls.<\/p>\n

Lucky<\/h2>
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\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPauline Wiersema<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

In response to their letter, the study programme organised an extra information meeting. This cleared up a lot of confusion, but it did not lead to a solution for the students who had been eliminated. The housemates decided to leave it at that. \u201cIt was too stressful for us to keep on going\u201d, Anna states.<\/p>\n

A temporary solution was found in the end for some of the unsuccessful applicants. The study programme has increased the number of places for internships this academic year. Instead of 72 students, 84 students can enrol every 10 weeks this year. Anna was able to take advantage of this. She got lucky in the August draw and can start in February 2022. She emphasises that although she is very pleased about this, she also sees that long-term solutions are needed. Her flatmate Laura can only start a year later and is therefore going to do an extra master\u2019s degree.<\/p>\n

Vijf maanden extra wachttijd door corona<\/h2>

The national advocacy organisation De Geneeskundestudent (The Medical Student) had already warned of substantial delays last year<\/a>. \u201cThese have not yet been caught up and may even have gotten worse\u201d, is the conclusion of the current president Femke van de Zuidwind.<\/p>\n

\u201cWaiting times have always been around, but they have skyrocketed since corona\u201d, Van de Zuidwind notes. \u201cWe can see that in most study programmes it has led to an additional five months\u2019 waiting time for internships. There are also lengthy waiting times at other UMCs, but Rotterdam is an extreme example. Students have raised this issue several times already. It is disappointing to hear the same old answers again this year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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Lees meer<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t